


Realistically

by tinymeggy



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Drabble, Eventual Happy Ending, F/M, M/M, Not Epilogue Compliant
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-24
Updated: 2016-10-24
Packaged: 2018-08-24 08:33:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 919
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8365276
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tinymeggy/pseuds/tinymeggy
Summary: Realistically, not everyone gets the happy ending they are expecting. Idealistically, everyone gets a happy ending.





	

Realistically, Hermione would have been working far too hard on whatever case she had to do and she would become a very accomplished young witch. So accomplished in fact that her husband would feel inferior and they would fight. Hermione wouldn't want to give up her work and Ron wouldn't want to give up Hermione, so they would live in a constant state of chaotic turmoil that they would attempt to hide from the rest of the world. They would fail dramatically in that attempt and then Harry would ask Hermione what was wrong, three years late, but at least he would ask. And then she would break down and tell him everything and he would comfort her. He would tell her to discuss her feelings with Ron. When the couple would eventually sit down to talk, they would realize that they aren't happy and would decide to separate. They would only have one child, a girl of five years old and she would be perfect and the light of their lives. She would keep them civil so that when Hermione would get a new lover, Ron would put on a brave face and when Ron would get a new wife, Hermione would pretend to love her, and maybe she actually would somewhere along the way.

Realistically, Draco would be incredibly fucked up. He would become a hermit for a few years, finishing his schooling in private and living off the Malfoy fortune. Then when he would finally feel comfortable enough to venture out into the public eye, his mother would set him up with Astoria, a woman of little emotion. He would court her and marry her, not because he wants to, but out of obligation and lack of choice. They would stay together for 5 years. They would have a child and he would be the one good thing to come of Draco Malfoy. Draco would begin to realize that his wife could never begin to understand his past and that he is forever stuck in monotony. He would ask Astoria to leave and they would divorce. She would leave the boy with his father and wouldn't come around often. Draco would be left alone with only his toddler for company.

Realistically, Ginny would have been a controlled mess after the war, what with her brother dying and having to go through so much tragedy during her time at Hogwarts. She would have joined a Quidditch team in order to get some time away from reality. She and Harry would have grown apart and would deny the realization that they were clinging to each other for stability and familiarity more than anything. Harry would be dealing with all of his demons. He would go to a therapist and try to talk out his problems, ripping out his hair once he realizes that he has built up a wall around himself. He will come to the realization that he is gay. He will feel like shit for leading Ginny on. He will eventually tell her when she comes back to the Burrow for Christmas. He will apologize and she will cry, but perhaps it would be more out of relief than anything. And so the two would split up and Ginny would have lovers and would bring them to the Burrow at Christmastime instead of Harry. But Harry would be there anyways and would look at her with such hidden jealousy. Not because of her new lover, but because she could move on from the past that he feels stuck in.

He would swallow around the lump in his throat and take another long drink of wine, looking around the Burrow and seeing all of the gaps in the family. He would see Hermione's absence and it would hit him so hard. He would see the stocking with Fred's name on it and hold back his tears. And he would take his leave from the festivities to go back home to Grimmauld Place and sob, sitting in front of Walburga Black's portrait because she is the only voice in the whole Wizarding World that will tell him what he already knows- that even after 8 years of moving on, he is still pathetic and weak and a murderer.

Somewhere along the way, Harry would try to seclude himself from the populace. He would quit his job as an auror and work in a Muggle grocery store just to have something to do to keep his mind off his past. Then one day Draco would walk into his store holding the hand of a four-year-old boy. The pair would shop for their monthly brunch with Narcissa and then wind up in Harry's line. And even under all of the disillusionment charms, Draco would still see Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived.

"Potter, you look ridiculous under all those spells," Draco would say to the wide-eyed cashier in front of him. "You are not an attractive blonde." At this, the little boy's jaw would drop and he would express his shock at finally meeting the great Harry Potter, the Savior of the Wizarding World and consequently of his father.

It would be that day that Harry Potter abruptly quits his job at the Muggle grocery store and make his reappearance into the Wizarding World by taking Draco Malfoy on a date, finally feeling that the portrait he talks to every night might be wrong about him.

Harry Potter, a man entrenched in his past would finally looks to the future.

**Author's Note:**

> This is barely a fic of any sort, but I've been drowning in emotions lately and I needed to let my feelings out. I hope you enjoyed, and any advice would be welcome!


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